


Different

by Donotquestionme



Series: Futakuchi GCBC [3]
Category: The LEGO Movie (2014)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Creatures & Monsters, Futakuchi GCBC, Gen, Monsters, lego monsterverse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-07
Updated: 2014-12-24
Packaged: 2018-02-28 11:45:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,041
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2731280
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Donotquestionme/pseuds/Donotquestionme
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The day the cops have been dreading finally comes.<br/>But it takes an unexpected turn.</p><p>Slight violence<br/>Slight body horror<br/>Death mention</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The End of the Beggining

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things begin to go downhill.

"Ok. Yeah, thanks so much." Bad Cop said taking a number of bags from the other man's hands. Good Cop was buzzing with excitement.

"Enjoy your food." The man said, then got back in his car. The words "New Number 1 Chinese Food" were emblazoned across its side.

Bad Cop turned back toward their apartment building as the delivery man drove off.  Good Cop and his apartment was on the fifth floor, but Bad Cop still opted for the stairs most of the time. It was good exercise, and faster than the elevator. He practically hopped up the stairs today. He couldn't help grinning.

Today had been a good day.

When he reached their apartment, he unlock the door and stepped inside. After setting the three food bags down.  He did their usual routine. Lock both the locks. Check the window locks. Make sure the blinds are all the way closed. Check every room for intruders. Recheck the locks.

They'd only been gone a few minutes to get the delivery from downstairs, but you couldn't be too careful.

"Clear." Bad Cop said, removing his cap.

He then felt a familiar shifting feeling on the back of his head as Good Cop Unhid himself.

Good Cop stretched and unfurled his tendrils of hair. The movement on the back of his head was pleasant for Bad Cop. He imagined that others might find it unnerving or uncomfortable, but for him it was comforting.

Good Cop wasted no time raiding the bags Bad had set on the counter, splitting their hair into half a dozen tendrils and moving all the food from the bags onto the table.

"Oh oh!" Good Cop exclaimed. "Buddy, guess how many. No peeking!"

Bad Cop smiled. "Let's see...nine?"

Good Cop giggled. "Twenty four."

" _Twenty four_!" Bad Cop cried. "They gave us _twenty four_ forks? How many people do they think we're feeding?"

"Twenty four, apparently." Good Cop smiled, but Bad felt tiniest bit of anxiety from him.

"Nah." Bad Cop said. "They put in four or five for every person they think it's for, plus some extras."

They played this game every time they ordered take-out, though that was fairly rare.  Ordering take out was simply too expensive most of the time, but this was a special occasion.

They'd just finished their training at the Bricksburg Police Acadamy. The police training under Business's rule was intense. The academy took two years to graduate from.  They'd passed every test with flying colors.  The physical aspects like fighting came very naturally to Bad Cop, and Good Cop had a knack for remembering laws and statutes.

Even the normally gruff Bad Cop couldn't keep a smile off his face. It was everything they had been working towards their whole life.

"I hope they included chopsticks along with all these forks." Good Cop said. "I asked specifically..."

Bad Cop had let Good Cop call the delivery place himself. He could pass for human over the phone. It was a risk that Bad Cop rarely allowed, but he was in a lenient mood tonight. Good Cop craved social interaction, no matter how small. He was never allowed to speak to or even been seen by anyone but Bad Cop, their parents, and Dr. MacGillicuddy.  It was torture for Good Cop, as friendly and out-going as he was. Bad Cop often felt they'd been given the opposite roles of what they should have in life.

"Ah-ha! Here they are!" Good Cop chirped gleefully. He pulled a few sets of chopsticks out of the bottom of one of the bags. He pulled three sets from their wrappers, tendrils splitting in two to hold  the individual sticks. It amazed Bad Cop how nimble and precise Good Cop could be with their hair, and how he could keep track of so many independently moving tendrils so effortlessly.

Bad Cop flipped on the tv and flipped it to the news channel. He liked to have the news on on mute in the background but he didn't really look at what was on, focusing more on the food.

There was , as always, a slight hesitation before Good Cop took the first bite. They'd been trying to eat more regularly, to keep themselves healthy enough for their training and to keep themselves under better control, but there was still a slight panic that came with the first bite of a meal. There was only so much they could do to stay fed when they were at the academy all day. They braced themselves mentally and Good Cop took a bite of beef lo mein.

A spike of adrenaline hit them, as it almost always did. Bad Cop's eyes instantly grew wide and unblinking. His vision shifted in and out of focus for a split second. His breaths became deep, shuddering gasps. Good Cop stopped breathing at all so as to eat faster. He shoveled noodles into his mouth as rapidly as he could with his chopsticks, managing to resist the urge to just dump the contents of the container into his mouth. Their heart pounded in their chest and their minds seemed to pull together, merging slightly.

Then, as suddenly as it had begun, the panic subsided. Bad Cop's breathing began to even out and Good Cop's eating slowed to a more normal pace. Their heart rate slowed and their minds felt more separate. Bad Cop took in a deep, though still a bit shaky, breath and exhaled it slowly.

The two chuckled nervously at the ordeal. As common as this was for them, it was unnerving every time.

Good Cop placed the now empty lo mein container on the counter and picked up two other containers.

"You can eat chicken and broccoli, can't you?" Good Cop asked, reaching one of the containers around to Bad Cop.

"Ehh." Bad Cop grumbled, taking the container. "Sometimes..."

Good Cop handed him a pair of chopsticks. Bad Cop fumbled with them for a moment before finally just stabbing a piece of chicken with one.

"I don't know how you manage to use these things." he said with a scowl.

"It's all in the wrist." Good Cop replied wryly.

Bad Cop rolled his eyes exaggeratedly. "Ha ha." he said.

He then focused on the food in front of him. It was true that he'd eaten this before, but his food issues were a day to day sort of thing. There was no telling what he would be able to stomach on any given day. Still, Good Cop always encouraged him to try. Bad Cop could "taste" what Good Cop ate, in a way, but it wasn't the same as eating it himself. Good Cop felt bad that Bad couldn't enjoy food in the same way he could. 

Bad Cop took a cautious bite.

His whole body instantly stiffened and his face twisted like he'd tasted something sour. The taste of it was so intense and so sickly rich it made him gag. More so than the taste was the texture. The feel of the slimy, grisly meat set his brain screaming. He knew logically that it was food but his brain and body reacted as if he'd put something deadly and utterly inedible into his mouth. His throat closed up to prevent any chance of him swallowing it.

He ran to the waste bin and spit the small piece of meat out, then spit a few more times to rid his mouth of the taste as best he could. A shiver ran up his spine.

"Not today, I guess..." Good Cop said, disappointedly. "Sorry."

"Eh." Bad shrugged. "There's no logic to it. Your guess was as good as mine."

He stuck the chopsticks into the container and looked up and the TV for the first time since turning it on.

The food fell from his hands and clattered to the floor, spilling onto the tile. For the first time in his life, Bad Cop couldn't care less about food.

"Hey!" Good Cop exclaimed. "Just because you don't want it doesn't mean I...I..." he trailed off. "...Bad? Are you ok?"

An intense and growing terror was spreading from his brother's part of their mind.

"What's wr--" Good Cop's words caught in his throat as he glanced through his brother's eyes at the television screen.

Their heart felt like it stood still for a full beat.

In large letters across the screen were the words:

"Small town doctor found conspiring with monsters. Corrupt doctor Ian MacGillicuddy dead in shoot-out with police forces. "

As if in a trance,  Bad Cop picked up the remote and unmuted the TV.

"I'm just so shocked about the whole thing. I mean it's just so scary!" a woman who was being interviewed said. "To think something like this was happening so close to us, and by someone we knew. He just didn't seem the type, you know? I guess it's really true what they say. You can't trust anybody."

The broadcast then cut to a police officer who went on to reiterate the importance of following the instructions and reporting any strange activity immediately.

The Cops felt like they'd been doused in cold water. Bad Cop flipped off the TV. They began to shake and they realized that neither of them had taken a breath since they'd seen the news.

They both took in a shuddering gasp that quickly turned to hyperventilation.

Dr. MacGillicuddy was dead.

He was _dead._

_And they were next._

He'd signed their physical form to get them into the academy. It was on _government record_ that he was their practicing physician. There was no way around it.

They'd come for them.

The Cops' heart felt like it would beat out of their chest and they broke out in a cold sweat.

What could they do? What could they _do?_

They had to skip town. To get away. But where could they go? There wasn't a place in the whole world away from Business's ever watchful eye. And what about their parents? They could never make it on the lam.

For a brief moment they even considered the idea of trying to seek the aid of the Monster Brotherhood, but quickly pushed the idea away in disgust.  The Monster Brotherhood's whole purpose was the overthrowal of human kind. They stood against everything that humanity stood for. They would never assist two humans, even if the Cops could have stomached having anything to do with such loathsome, despicable creatures. If it wasn't for them, Business wouldn't have to be so hard on all monsters. It was their fault the Cops' had to hide in the first place.

Whatever the case, they had to move now. It wouldn't take the Super Secret Police more than a few days to track down Dr. MacGillicuddy's patients.  They had to get to their parents. They had to move. To do _something._ But they couldn't seem to move. It was like they were rooted to the spot with terror, just shaking.

Suddenly, a loud pounding on the door nearly made them jump out of their skin.

"Police! Open up!" a shrill voice yelled from behind the door.

It felt like the world just shattered into a million pieces.

This couldn't be happening. How could they be here so soon? It wasn't possible! They're hadn't been enough tim--

Suddenly they understood.

It was a trap.

Dr. MacGillicuddy had probably been dead for days now. They waited to reveal the news until everything was in place. Surveillance would be posted on every one of Dr. MacGillicuddy's patients, waiting to see who would make a break for it when they news was revealed. Panicking monsters like them, thinking they had time, would flee from their homes.

And right into Business's waiting claws.

They wouldn't need to interrogate every patient. The monsters would reveal themselves.

But the police didn't need to rely on the Cops' to out themselves. They'd been parading through the police academy, practically advertising their suspicious strangeness. They'd sealed their fate the minute they'd enrolled.

Good Cop promptly dropped the cartons he was holding and Hid himself. Bad Cop desperately scrambled for their cap, pulling it onto his head.

The door burst open, splintered wood flying in all directions from the force of the impact. 

Three masked officers charged into the room at an incredible speed, grabbing the Cops and pulling Bad Cop's arms behind him roughly.

One of them tore the aviators from Bad Cop's face. Bad squeezed his eyes shut.

"No! Wai--" he cried, but the officers paid him no heed.

The same officer forced Bad's right eye open with their hand. "Pointed pupils." they said in a metallic sounding voice.

Bad let out a cry of pain and alarm and, the instant he opened his mouth, another hand forced his mouth open wider. "Fangs." said another officer. Their voice identical to the other's.

A third yanked their cap off and pulled at their ears. "Pointed ears." Again, the same voice.

"Cuff him." One said, and Bad Cop felt the cold metal of handcuffs constricting his wrists.

There was no point in trying to hide now.

"Good Cop!" Bad Cop yelled.

On cue, Good Cop Unhid himself, whipping thick tendrils of hair out, knocking their assailants back. Bad Cop wasted no time taking advantage of their surprise. He kicked the one directly in front of him, sending them flying back into the wall. It felt like kicking a lead brick, but Bad Cop ignored the pain.

A second officer tried to grab him again, but he sweep kicked their legs out from under them. Even without his hands, Bad Cop was an excellent fighter and Good Cop's tendrils helped to keep him from losing his balance. He landed a powerful round house kick to the temple on the third officer, who collapsed to the ground.

"Get the key!" Bad urged.

Good Cop reached for the belt of the fallen officer, trying to get the key to the cuffs, but, to their shock and dismay, a hand grabbed the tendril.

It was impossible! A kick that strong should have put them out cold! Good Cop tried to pull back.

Before they could even completely process what was happening, the officer pulled back on their hair with tremendous force, pulling the Cops to the ground and tearing a huge chunk of their hair out from the root.

The Cops howled in pain.

Their hair was much more firmly rooted in their scalp than any human. They could, when they distributed the weight correctly, even support their own weight on it.

No human would be able to tear it out like that.

Despite the pain, Bad Cop scrambled to stand, but, as he got to his knees, he saw the officer who knocked them down holding some kind of small spray canister.

The Cops' instantly squeezed their eyes shut, expecting a blast of mace. But the only thing they felt was a tiny, gentle mist.

Bad Cop opened his eyes. On their skin was only a tiny amount of a clear liquid.

 _Water?_   Bad Cop thought.

Then the pain hit.

The Cop's let out an inhuman screech of agony, crumpling to the ground and convulsing in pain.

It burned like acid, but no wounds formed anywhere. Their skin felt like it should be melting off their bones, but there was not a single burn. Worse than the burning was a feeling like something trying to collapse them into themselves. It felt like their whole body was revolting.  Their skin writhed like it was trying to get away from itself. Away from whatever that horrible mist had been.  

Good Cop's tendrils shriveled like dying weeds. He felt like he was being forced under water. For the first time in his life, he Hid himself against his will.

Bad Cop felt like an immense force was crushing the back on his skull in. Pushing Good Cop down and down until he couldn't hear him anymore and he could only barely feel his presence.

Through the agony, Bad cop managed to get to his knees.

"Good Cop?" He cried. "Good Cop!"

He glanced up to see a black baton a split second before it made contact with his temple.

And everything went black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And now we start to see that I don't exactly follow the pre-established Lego Monster-verse to the T. I kinda have my own Monsterverse with a lot of its own rules story lines. I don't do the clockwork zombies, for one, and my take on a lot of the relics are different. Just a forewarning, expect to see other things that don't line up in the future.
> 
> Bad Cop's food issues are heavily inspired by my own. His reaction to food's he can't eat is basically exactly mine.
> 
> Also RIP Dr. MacGillicuddy. You were too good for this world. I feel really bad about killing him, especially considering the way he died (which you might hear about later [hint: it was not in a shoot out]). He was one of those characters where the first thing I knew about them is that they were going to die then, as I fleshed out his character, I really fell in love with him. Nevertheless, he really did have to die to further the plot. Goodnight sweet prince. You will not be forgotten.


	2. The Beginning of The End

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Business gives the Cops an offer they can't refuse.  
> The real question is: would they even want to?

Bad Cop's consciousness kept flickering in and out. Everything was a haze of pain.

Flashing lights.

 Muffled sounds.

Where...where was Good Cop...?

He couldn't focus on anything.

When he finally came to, everything was dark. Everything, that is, but two glowing, red lights directly across from him.

Bad Cop tried to shift his position but found he was restrained. His arms were pulled back and his hands cuffed to something behind him. His arms and shoulders ached.

Wherever they were going, they'd been en route for some time.

Suddenly a spike of panic rushed through him.

Good Cop!

Bad desperately searched his mind for his brother's presence and let out a sigh of relief when he found him in the back of their mind, unconscious but seemingly unharmed.  Whatever they'd sprayed them with had affected Good Cop even more so than Bad, which was saying something.  In that split second before being knocked out,  for the first time in his life, Bad Cop hadn't been able to feel Good Cop's presence.  It had only lasted for a fraction of a second, but the memory of that feeling of empty aloneness lingered in his mind.

Bad desperately wanted his brother to be awake, to hear his voice in their mind to reassure him and to find some comfort in his presence, but he also didn't want to wake him. The longer he could stay asleep and be away from this waking nightmare, the better.

There was something heavy on their head, weighing it down. Bad couldn't see exactly what it was, but he could tell it was some kind of helmet. No doubt to keep Good restrained. The strap was so tight around their neck it made it difficult to breathe.  There's no way they'd be able to get it off.  It didn't matter, anyway. They were too weak and too well restrained to break free, and another shot of that spray would instantly quell and attempt at escape. Escape would be pointless anyway.

It was over.

There was nowhere that was away from Business's eyes, not once he knew who you were. Their parents were no doubt already is custody too, or worse. Bad wouldn't let his mind go there.  

There was nothing left to do but wait for the end.

Bad felt a stirring in the back of his mind. Good groggily pulled himself out of unconsciousness, like a boot being pulled out of a thick mud.

 _"Bad...?"_  he called , his voice weak _"What's...where...?"_

Bad felt Good's realization, followed by a spike of fear, then a cold acceptance.

Bad had wanted to hear his brother's voice, but now realized there was nothing to say. They'd always known this day would come. They'd spent their whole lives dreading it, trying to avoid it, but deep in their gut they knew it would come. If it wasn't for their parents, it almost would have been a relief. All the fear and anxiety was over. All the hiding and the secrecy.  They'd never have to hide again.

Because they were going to die tonight.

It a strange, morbid way, it was freeing.  Suddenly all the plans they'd formulated, all the intricately concocted details they had to follow so exactly, the rules upon rules upon rules that they had to keep themselves to every second of every day, were gone. Just like that.

They'd been so afraid of being here for their whole lives. Of being here in this van that they knew in their heart they'd be in one day. That terror had been with them for as long as they could remember.

But now that it was finally happening, it didn't feel real.

Bad's eyes finally adjusted to the darkness. Without his sunglasses, he could see in near pitch darkness with little difficulty. The source of the two red lights became clear.

They were eyes.

Robotic eyes, that is. One of the officers who'd arrested him sat across from him in the dark van. Their mask was missing and he could see their face for the first time.  It was a sheet of metal, bolted and welded to a metal head. Where the mouth should be was an inset, rectangular speaker.

The Cops were taken aback. No wonder they'd been so hard to fight! And no wonder he'd never heard of anyone ever being recruited to the Super Secret Police. No one ever was.

It made sense, Bad supposed. What better way to assure that no monsters would ever infiltrate your monster hunting police force? Build the members yourself.  Still, it was mind blowing. To think that Business had this kind of immense technological power at his disposal.

Bad studied the...man? Machine? Whatever it was sitting in front of him.

It wore a dark blue S.W.A.T. uniform, over which was a black, bullet-proof vest with the words "Super Secret Police" on it in bold, yellow letters and a Super Secret Police badge. The night vision goggle mask it had been wearing in their apartment was sitting on the bench next to it. One of the lenses was cracked.

A closer inspection of the robot's face showed a large indentation on the left temple. It had obviously been struck with a good deal of force to dent the metal like that.

 _"It's the one you kicked!"_ Good Cop exclaimed.

Bad Cop blinked in surprise. That couldn't be right. He couldn't kick with that kind of force. Frankly, he was surprised they'd been able to fight them at all. Good Cop and he were only slightly stronger than the average human.

But he was right!  The dent was in the exact same spot as Bad had kicked one of their assailants. They must not have been made of a very strong metal.

The robot ran the fingers of its left hand over the dent, as one would over a wound or bruise.

Good Cop felt a pang of remorse for having hurt it.

 _"It did a hell of a lot worse to us!"_ Bad Cop growled silently, not sharing the sentiment.

Suddenly, the van came to an abrupt halt. Their restraints yanked against them with the force of the stop and Bad Cop hissed in pain.

The robot stood in a flash of motion. It undid some kind of clasp behind Bad Cop that he couldn't see, then hauled him to his feet. 

The doors of the van swung open and the robot lead the Cops out. Bad Cop winced at the light outside. As his eyes adjusted, his jaw dropped.

In front of him was by far the tallest and most intimidating building the Cops had ever seen,  the top of which stretched far above where he could see, disappearing into the dark, cloudy, night sky.  The building itself was made of dark, almost black material and would have been nearly invisible against the dark sky if it wasn't for the ominous, green light coming from many of the windows and for an incredibly bright light coming from below the cliff over which the tower stood.

"Keep moving!" commanded the robot in that shrill, monotonous voice they all seemed to share. It pushed Bad Cop forward roughly.

The other two robots who'd arrested him got out of the front of the van and joined them.

Bad Cop couldn't help shaking as they led them through the doors of the tower. The interior of the tower, however, surprised the Cops.

It was a very plain lobby area, like that of an office building or a hotel. There were fake potted plants and some vaguely uncomfortable looking couches. Soft, calm music played. Directly in front of them, at the end of the lobby, was a front desk where another robot sat, this one obviously meant to look like a woman. It wore a dark blue dress and a shaped chunk of brown metal formed its hair.  On the front of the desk was the Octan logo and the words "Octan Company H.Q.".

Octan H.Q.? It _was_ an office building?

The Cops were thoroughly confused. They'd imagined they'd be taken to some kind of prison, deep underground, or just... far from any civilization and shot.  The last thing they'd expected was to be taken to a clean, well lit building like this.

They had no time to ponder this, however, as their robot captors lead them quickly into a waiting elevator. One of them hit a button and the doors shut.  The elevator immediately sprang into motion, shooting upwards. Bad Cop nearly lost his footing, but managed to balance himself.

The floor numbers displayed above the door whizzed by at an impossible speed but, once the elevator was in motion, it hardly felt like they were moving at all.

The whole thing was utterly surreal. Here they were, in handcuffs and a head restraint, surrounded by robots, moving at upwards of ninety miles an hour, all in a quaint looking little elevator, utterly silent save for the slight whirring of the robots' mechanics and a jazzy instrumental number being played through the elevators speakers.

It they hadn't been so terrified, they might have found it funny.

The elevator then came to a sudden stop. This time Bad Cop was not able to keep his balance, and fell backwards into one of the robots behind him, which caught him, seemingly by reflex. It stared down at him. Its red, mechanical eyes focused in and out and it's head cocked to the side, reminding Bad Cop a bit of a confused dog.  It was the one Bad Cop had damaged, the only one without a mask. It looked significantly less menacing without it.

The robot pushed Bad Cop back upright as the doors of the elevator opened into a long hallway. The walls were clean and white, and the floor was a simple grid pattern. Lining the walls were long, white couches, potted plants, water coolers, and fax machines. All the things you'd expect in a normal office building.  Nothing seemed out of the ordinary or menacing.

Then they came to an enormous double door, bright red, and at least twenty feet tall. Two of the robots pushed the doors open. What the Cops saw was much more of what they had been expecting.

The room beyond was massive. The walls slanted upwards at around a 40 degree angle, leading up to a ceiling that was nearly forty feet high. The floors were white save for a red section at the far end and a path of red carpet leading to it.

All around the Cops were huge pillars arranged in neat rows, each displaying objects the likes of which the Cops had never seen. Some looked like weapons or traps, with sharp, metal jaws. Others looked like huge vials of potion. Others still were things that they couldn't begin to understand the function of.

At the far end of the room, at the end of the path of carpet, was a small set of steps leading to the red section of the floor. There, under a single spotlight, was another, much smaller pillar. This one had nothing on it. Behind this pillar, more importantly, was a sleek and menacing looking desk. A tall-backed chair sat behind it, facing away from the Cops and toward a large, diamond shaped window, framed in a broad stripe of red.

The robot guards lead him to the edge of the steps, then stopped. One of them unlocked and removed their handcuffs. Bad Cop rubbed at his sore wrists.

The Cops shook. They had no idea what to expect.

"Monsters..." said a voice from the chair. "are a scourge on this world, skulking in the shadows and preying on the innocent, causing _disorder._ "

The Cops' blood ran cold. They knew that voice. Everyone in the world knew that voice.

_President Business._

"Their sheer existence is poisonous. All they do is take from the world. Their only true objective to destroy humanity and everything it stands for." Business continued, his voice icy.

He paused for a moment and the Cops couldn't help shaking in terror.

"But you and me..." Business began, his voice a sly whisper.

He then spun the chair around so he faced the Cops. A ripple seemed to run through his very form, features twisting and changing. Flashes of fangs, scales, fur, and color appeared and disappeared. Bones and skin seemed to flow and ripple like water. His form seemed to distort like a great shiver running from right to left before settling back into that universally known shape of President Business. He smiled wolfishly, teeth still sharp.

"We're _different._ "

The Cops felt like the floor had fallen out from under them and they were falling through an endless void.

This wasn't happening.

This _couldn't_ be happening.

It wasn't possible. It was utterly and completely _impossible._

Their mind couldn't keep up. Their world had been turned upside-down and inside-out too many times in one day. They couldn't process it.

"You...you..."  Bad Cop croaked. "You're...you're...you're n-n-not..."

"Human?" Business finished. He grinned even wider, showing off glistening fangs. "No..." he cooed.

Bad Cop was too shocked to remember formalities. He asked right out.

"What are you?" he whispered.

Business's grin grew into an amused smile.

"Why, I'm the president of the whole world." He said. He stood and seemed to swell upwards, growing to at least ten feet tall. His legs grew thick and striped with red and black rings. His suit seemed to meld into his skin. His hands grew long, thick claws. His skin turned gray and his eyes glowed bright orange. A ring of thick, red, horns grew from his head like a helmet or crown.

"I'm Lord Business." he said, his voice deep and fearsome.

 _Lord_ Business? Bad Cop thought. It suddenly seemed to fit him much better.

"But...that's not what you meant, was it?" Business asked. He took a step over his desk and directly in front of the Cops, his form seeming to melt back down into that of a grey-suited businessman that the Cops knew so well as he did so.

"There's no name for what I am." Business said. "It's too old and too rare."

He took a step towards the Cops, form shifting flowing like a some semi-solid mass of soft clay or a thick liquid than a creature of bone and flesh.

"Some call it a 'shape-shifter' but it hardly does it any justice." Business explained. He sneered. "Even things as lowly as werewolves can 'shift shape', but it's nothing compare to what _I_ can do."

As if to prove his point, Business swelled upwards again, flashing claws and teeth for a split second before shrinking again.

The Cops had stopped shaking. They were too far in shock to move at all. Bad Cop's eyes were wide and unblinking.

"...why?" Bad Cop breathed. He couldn't think of anything else to say.

An angry glint flashed in Business's eye.

"Why _what?"_ he said, his voice sharp. "Be _specific._ " he snapped, but did not wait for Bad Cop to comply. "Why do I run such an unforgiving campaign against monsters if I am one, you mean? Why would I hunt down and kill my own kind?" He scowled.

 _"PAY ATTENTION!"_ Business barked. It was so loud and so sudden it made Bad Cop jump.

Suddenly Business was only inches from them, his fingers grabbing Bad Cop's chin roughly. Bad Cop flinched in terror.

"Because they are _not my kind."_ Business hissed. He released Bad Cop and stepped back, turning his back to the Cops.

"Monsters like that are nothing but vermin, spreading their chaos and disorder over this world. _MY_ world." he seethed, clenching his fist in front of him, walking forward towards his desk as he spoke.  "Most hide away in the shadows, staying out of the light, away from anywhere I might see them. But not you. You wormed your way into _my_ police academy.  You came within a hair's breadth of infiltrating _my_ police. "

Bad Cop swallowed hard and mustered his courage. "Are you going to kill us, then?" he asked, voice shaking.

Business unclenched his fist and turned back to the Cops. Then he did something they didn't expect.

He laughed.

It was a harsh, barking laugh that put the Cops more on edge than his yelling.

"Oh goodness no!" Business laughed. "Do you really think that everyone I execute has the privilege of meeting me in person? That I would bring you all the way to my personal office just to _kill you?_ "

He smiled that wide, predatory smile again.

"No. I brought you here to _hire_ you."

The Cops felt detached. There was no more astounded that they could be than what the rest of tonight had already made them. It didn't feel real anymore. It couldn't be real.

Any second now they'd wake up in the back of the SSP van, or in a dungeon, or before a firing squad. Somewhere that made sense. Not lead by robots to Pres-- _Lord_ Business's personal office. Not standing before the most powerful man in the entire world who just revealed himself to be a monster. Not being _offered a job by_ _Lord Business._

"...H...hire...us?" Bad Cop said, too shocked to even notice he'd used a plural pronoun.

Business quirked an eyebrow, a small smirk played on his lips. "Yes.." He said. "See I've been reading over your file for a few weeks now and I have to say... I'm intrigued."

"File...?" Bad Cop asked hollowly.

"Yes, your physician kept good records on you. " Business's grin widened. "A real fastidious man, your doctor. Very detailed. Almost a pity he had to die."

The Cops felt a cold shiver run through them. Dr. MacGillicuddy really was dead them. They hadn't even realized they'd held out hope that maybe he'd been detained instead.

Then Bad Cop's eyes narrowed in confusion.

"But...if you have Dr. MacGillicuddy's  files...why set the trap?" Bad Cop asked.

That seemed to give Business pause. "What do you mean?" he asked.

"I mean..." Bad Cop said. "Why release the news of Dr. MacGillicuddy's d-...de-...his involvement with monsters? Why let the public know that anything had slipped your radar if you didn't need the monsters to reveal themselves?"

Business's expression soured and Bad Cop suddenly realized he probably should not have spoken, he had just felt so detached from the situation, he didn't think of the danger of speaking out of turn.

"You're _quick._ " Business said. It was a compliment, but there was a sharpness to it. "There have been... _complications_...in the retrieval of some of the files, but it's nothing that won't be remedied." Business's tone clearly stated that that was there would be no further discussion of it.  "In the meantime, the news will send enough monsters scurrying from their holes, looking for new places to hide, new systems to exploit. That's  part of where you come in." His mouth twisted into a mix between a grin and a snarl. " _Both_ of you."

Bad Cop stiffened.

"That's right." Business continued. "I know all about that, along with a good deal more.  Increased strength and speed. Nothing incredible, but still noteworthy.  Superhuman sense of sight and smell. Good at tracking, I'd wager." An icy tone crept into his voice. "At finding things that don't want to be found. But all that comes at a price, doesn't it?" 

Business walked his fingers across the top of his desk.

"How much do you spend on food every week?" He asked, turning his head to face the Cops. "Three, four hundred dollars?"

"Four fifty...roughly." Bad Cop said, staring at the floor.

"No small amount." Business remarked. "And even after that you're still underweight. Fatigued. Always one step from starvation. Must have been hard on your 'parents' growing up, too, huh? Already risking everything to take you in, then rewarded for it by having you eat every penny they had in savings. All for a kid that wasn't even _theirs._ "

The Cops' stomach twisted with guilt. It was everything they'd always known to be true, now said out loud by the voice of undeniable truth.  

"What if I told you there was a way for you to never worry about starving again, that you'd always have enough to feed yourselves, and even have enough to pay back your parents for everything you've taken from them?" Business asked, his voice low.

Bad Cop's eyes grew wide. It was more than they could ever ask for. But it made no sense.

"W..why? Why would you do that for us?" He breathed.

"This isn't about what I would do for you." Business hissed. "This about what _you_ will do for _me_."

"You've met my robots already, of course?" Business said, smiling again. "Marvelous pieces of machinery, wouldn't you say? I designed them myself. They're stronger, faster, and more durable than any human soldier, and infinitely replaceable. A perfect model of efficiency and obedience. But..." he paused. "They excel at following orders, not giving them."

He faced his body towards the Cops again.

"That's where you come in." He grinned with a quick glint of sharp teeth. "You've been slipping through the cracks in my system your whole life, so you know exactly where to stop them up. I want you to lead my Super Secret Police and accomplish what so far they've been unable to do: Track down and eliminate the Monster Brotherhood."

"L-lead? The Super Secret Police?" Bad Cop sputtered. "But-but I...you...why would...?" he couldn't seemed to form a coherent sentence.

"Why would I trust a monster to hunt down monsters?" Business supplied. "It's like I said. You're different. You're not like the other monsters I've come across in my time."

Suddenly, faster than Bad Cop's eyes could even process, Business was in front of them again, only inches from Bad Cop's face.

"But there's a part of you that is." Business's face was hard, his voice utterly serious. "There's a part deep down inside of you that's just _dying_ to be like that. To give in to that animalistic, monstrous nature." his voiced dropped low. "A part that you don't always have control of."

Something dark stirred in the Cops' chest, as if awoken by mention of it. They pushed the feeling away.

"But you fight against it." Business continued. "You do everything in your power to defy it. To defy what you are. You strived to join the very force that exists to destroy things like you, and not to infiltrate or hinder it. That's...interesting." 

He stepped back, giving the Cops a bit more room. "On top of that you're skilled. You received the highest marks of anyone to pass through that academy in its history. " he said. "You went toe to toe with three of my best robots in hand to hand combat and held your own. If it weren't for the Spray, you very well might have even escaped."

The Spray.

The Cops shivered and Business seemed to note it.

"Ah yes." He smiled wickedly. "A truly wonderful thing, isn't it? I have to thank you, really. You were the first live test of it in the field. Really magnificent. It's derived from one of my relics. The Elixir of Na'il. It suppresses monstrous attributes yet is practically harmless to humans.  Incredibly diluted, of course." He made a flippant hand gesture. "Some parts per million. I honestly don't know what would happen if a monster came in contact with the Elixir in its raw form." 

Suppresses monstrous attributes?  The Cops supposed that was one way to put it. The sting of it still lingered ever so slightly on their skin and the pain was fresh in their mind.

"I didn't expect they'd have to resort to that for you. You continue to surprise me." Business said. "Your file says your name is--"

"Bad Cop." Bad Cop interjected.

Business quirked an eyebrow.

"Bad Cop?" he repeated, then grinned. "I like it. Does that make the other guy 'Good Cop'?"

"It does." Bad Cop said, struggling to keep his voice steady.

"Let see him, then." Business said.

On cue, one of the robot guards unfastened the strap around the Cops' neck and removed the helmet from their head.

Good Cop cautiously Unhid himself.

Business walked around to their back to get a look at him.

Good Cop fought back panic. He'd never revealed himself to anyone new since before he could remember. Everything he knew was screaming at him to Hide himself. To not be seen. Especially not by _Business._

Business inspected him closely, leaning in. Good Cop could not help but pull away, pushing their head forward.

Good Cop thought he saw a slight glint of malice in Business's eye, but the older man said nothing, simply returning to stand in front of Bad Cop again.

"So." Business said. "Here's my proposal. You work for me. Be the chief of my Super Secret Police and hunt down the Monster Brotherhood. Pave the way for the plans I have for this world. I'll make sure you will have everything you need to live comfortably and never worry about starvation again. Or...you and your parents can spend the rest of what will most likely be very short lives in my Think Tank."

He cocked his head to the side and grinned.

"What do you say?"

There was a moment of silence. They had the choice now to betray their own kind. To hunt down those which they might have known as friends. To destroy the lives of ones just like themselves. But also to keep their parents safe. To give back to them and to this world. To ensure their own survival.

It was a choice between what they were and what they believed.

" _Yes_." The Cops whispered in unison.

"Yes, _what?"_ Business snapped.

The Cops snapped to attention and saluted.

_"YES, SIR!"_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things to note in this chapter:  
> Just because a character says something, doesn't mean they believe it  
> Just because a character believes something, doesn't mean it's true
> 
> I changed all the times I refer to gcbc as the "cops" to "Cops" to make it more obvious it's about them. I'll also go back and capitalize all the "hide"s and 'unhide"s to make it obvious it means when Good Cop makes himself look like normal hair. 
> 
> As you can see I have a pretty different take on Business in this AU than the sort of "official" interpretation. He doesn't hate humanity. He wouldn't rule something he dislikes. He certainly sees himself as more than human but doesn't find anything inherently bad about pretending to be one. It suits his purposes. no one can really force Business to do anything he doesn't want to...
> 
> If you haven't noticed yet, I called it the Monster Brotherhood because it has the same initials as Master Builders. 
> 
> Also yes the Super Secret Police are still robots, sorry if that's anticlimactic.


End file.
